In November 2012, Erie voters defeated the same ballot question by one of the narrowest margins of any ballot issue in the state that year.

"We're really happy and real gratified that the voters agreed with us that a new police building was necessary," Erie Police Chief Marco Vasquez said Tuesday night. "Ultimately, it's going to benefit the entire town."

The 17,000-square-foot facility will be built on town-owned land at the southwest corner of County Line Road and Telleen Avenue. The building will be the new home to a 12,145-square-foot police station, a 2,680-square-foot municipal court and a 2,875-square-foot lobby.

The town's police force now operates out of a 2,400-square-foot space in the basement of Erie Town Hall.

Space issues abound in the current facility. Bikes have been parked in the women's restroom. Case evidence occasionally hangs to dry in restrooms for lack of anywhere else to put them. And any private space in which to interview suspects or victims is virtually nonexistent.

During the September flood, the police department had to move its command post to the Erie Public Works building for lack of space.

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Vasquez said his department won't miss the basement abode.

"As we have said all along through this campaign, we're really not in a position to meet with crime witnesses, with victims, to process evidence at Town Hall," Vasquez said. "Every time I looked at our evidence property room, which is really an evidence property closet, I would think, 'How are we going to put one more piece of evidence into that room?'"

In the new facility, officers will have a separate, secure entrance through which to transport suspects and will have ample room for training.

The bond issue will translate to a cost of $36 annually on a $300,000 home.

Many viewed the reluctance of voters to pay for a police station the last time around as a response to the Erie Board of Trustees' decision to fund the construction of a $1.1 million skate park. The skate park decision came shortly before the election.

The 2012 police/courts question also appeared on the same ballot as a bond initiative for the St. Vrain Valley School District.

"This is a facility (Erie police) have needed for a long time," said newly elected Erie Mayor Tina Harris, who was among the leaders of the Keep Erie Safe citizens organization that campaigned on behalf of 2A. "I'm so happy for them. This time, we really got out and made sure people understood that there was a need, and it wasn't an agenda-driven issue."

The Erie Board of Trustees in January unanimously approved putting the question back on the ballot, and in early March trustees unanimously passed a resolution in support of the question's appearance on the ballot.

The ballot question also received public support this year from law enforcement leaders, including Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle.

No timeline has been set for the start of construction on the facility, but Vasquez said the sooner, the better.

"We have the completed plans in place, so we anticipate being able to move fairly quickly forward and do what we need to do to get the financing in place," Vasquez said. "The quicker we're able to get going, the better it will be for everyone."